Home Language Use in Multilingual Workplace: Exploring Practices, Attitudes, and Relevance in Ngaoundere Public Administration (Published)
This paper is a sociolinguistic study that examines the use of the mother tongue in the public administration of Ngaoundere, Adamawa Cameroon, focusing on the practices, the attitudes of public workers and the relevance of the phenomenon. A sample population of 115 civil servants was surveyed and data were collected using a mixed method approach combining both participant observation and questionnaire. Fishman’s Domain Theory (1972) and Giles’ Accommodation Theory (2007) served as the theoretical framework for the analysis. The results show that the majority of public employees (45.22%) frequently communicate in their mother tongue, especially in Fulfulde, with public users, colleagues or friends to clarify messages or discuss casual topics. Employees (69.57%) accommodate their language to the public users’ code choice, when necessary, without resistance. They do not raise an eyebrow when they hear colleagues speaking to each other in their native language (74.78%) or colleagues speaking to public users in their native language (74.78%). Interestingly, a significant proportion of staff (60%) recognise the relevance of mother tongues in administration, highlighting their role in improving service delivery, work cohesion and increasing trust and citizen engagement. The study concludes that the use of the mother tongue in the workplace is a key factor in effective public administration and advocates policies that support multilingualism to improve governance and service delivery in local administrations in the era of decentralisation
Keywords: Attitudes, Practices, Public Administration, Relevance, home language
LANGUAGE CHOICE AND LANGUAGE ATTITUDES IN A MULTILINGUAL ARAB CANADIAN COMMUNITY: QUEBEC– CANADA: A SOCIOLINGUISTIC STUDY (Published)
This study aimed at investigating language choice among Arabs of Quebec– Canada. It also explored Arabs’ attitudes towards Arabic, French and English in particular and factors involved in using these languages. In order to achieve the objectives of the study, the researchers selected a sample that consisted of (100) Arab respondents who reside in Quebec– Canada, covering different age ranges, gender, and educational backgrounds. The instrument of the study was a sociolinguistic questionnaire. Results showed that Arabs of Quebec– Canada have positive attitudes towards Arabic, English and French. They freely use their Arabic language in the domain of home and with family members, in worship places and when listening to the radio. In addition, they use English and French in Governmental offices and formal applications and in educational institutions. Results also showed that Arabs of Quebec mix these languages in the domain of neighborhood, with friends, and media.
Keywords: Arab Canadians, Attitudes, Language Choice, Sociolinguistics